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Do you really need to worry about what's in your nail polish?

Tribune Content Agency, LLC
Published 10:58 p.m. ET May 9, 2015

Some ingredients in nail polish are toxic and can lead to health problems.(Photo: TNS)

The makers of "clean" nail polish just keep finding new ingredients to remove in the name of healthy alternatives to traditionally chemical-laden polish. Five-free nail polish, which excludes formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate, toluene, camphor and formaldehyde resin, succeeded 3-free nail polish (formulas sans formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate) as the gold standard in the healthier-polish world just four years ago. But now, a growing number of 7-free and even 8-free lines are upping the ante.

We asked Amanda Sergay, a dermatologist at Marmur Medical Group in New York City, whether you need to worry about these three new ingredients being put on the chopping block:

■ Ethyl Tosylamide, a plasticizer that helps transform polish from drippy to dry in minutes; the ingredient has already been barred from personal care products in Europe because of its antibiotic properties and concern over antibiotic resistance.

■ Xylene, a solvent that keeps your nail polish from getting gloppy; it's also a known allergen and possible carcinogen, according to research from the International Agency on Research For Cancer Scientific Publications Series.

■ Parabens, preservatives that have gotten a bad rep for their estrogen-mimicking effects, which past research from the University of Reading and other institutions has suggested may trigger major health concerns like hormonal problems.

So, should you switch to 7-free polish? You bet. These ingredients can be absorbed into your body through your nail plate, Sergay says. You also inhale some of the fumes when you're polishing your nails (or having them polished), which can lead to further toxicity. "We don't know the exact quantities of these chemicals that will affect your health, but if you can choose these new cleaner polishes, it's a much safer way to go," she says.

You can clean up your nail act with Butter London Patent Shine 10X ($18, nordstrom.com), which leaves out both ethyl tosylamide and xylene, or Pacifica 7 Free Nail Polish ($9, pacificabeauty.com), whose newest nail line skips xylene and parabens.